David Mutaf commits!

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theczar said:
Quick release on shot...much better than hurt
  • The second David gets across the court he looks for the ball with hands up and ready to show off that lefty shooting stroke. He had back to back threes and the ball comes off his hand beautifully. The first thought upon seeing David play is “pure shooter”.
  • Looks to be very comfortable using the dribble to his right into a pull-up or attacking a screen with either hand and pulling up to shoot. And his confidence as a shooter looks to be at a very high level.
  • A big part of getting space and being comfortable with a jumpshot is off ball activity. Multiple times David sprinted the arc with hands up ready to dig the front foot in on balance for the knock down.
  • Mutaf made three threes in the first quarter comfortably and each time the defense was scrambling to close-out but they were much too late. David looks to have the potential to be a high percentage three point shooter in the college game as he needs little space to catch and cash in.
  • David is very comfortable shooting on the move and his footwork in getting himself on balance just before the release is exceptional.
  • In my time of watching players for Gopher Illustrated, David is one of the best shooting prospects I have seen. He made 5 of 12 threes in this game and 11 of 20 shots overall. In the four game event David made 18 of 41 shots at the arc (44 percent) and half of his 68 attempts overall.
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This is all from Ryan James at Gopher Illustrated. You need to attribute it to him.
 

Just watching those highlights I do think he'll have to adjust to the speed of High D1 basketball. Some guys have that ability to play at their pace and make it work, but time will tell if he's able to do that.
 




247 has Mutaf ranked 226 in this class. I have no idea how much of a handle they have on his game, but this staff's track record with guys ranked outside the top 200 has been very poor.

If Ryan James is correct and he can shoot and can't defend then Mutaf and Tre Williams are basically polar opposites at that wing position. Hopefully both can play behind someone like Gach and the Gophers have the luxury of using one or the other depending on game flow and matchups.
 


theczar said:
I guess you did not read the part about gopher illustrated in the article....geez
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Huh? You didn't link an article or put an attribution on the information. And what you quoted didn't mention the author. A simple, "From Ryan James at Gopher Illustrated" would have sufficed.

Regardless, this is an interesting pickup. I'm intrigued.
 

This is great news. Always awesome to land a shooter.
 



MennoSota said:
Watched the tape. Mustaf clearly has a better shot. He's actually less athletic than Hurt and about equally as bad on the dribble. Hurt is a better defender. It looks to me like Mustaf could use a redshirt season.
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Mustaf looks much better at putting the ball on the floor, pushing in transition, and creating than Hurt ever did.
 

Nice! So we have one scholly open yet??
 

EG#9 said:
247 has Mutaf ranked 226 in this class. I have no idea how much of a handle they have on his game, but this staff's track record with guys ranked outside the top 200 has been very poor.

If Ryan James is correct and he can shoot and can't defend then Mutaf and Tre Williams are basically polar opposites at that wing position. Hopefully both can play behind someone like Gach and the Gophers have the luxury of using one or the other depending on game flow and matchups.
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247 probably not up to speed on players from Turkey...prefer the eurobaskets reports...R James tweets today had him at 6'4" Mutaf now refers to himself as 6'6" .... 247 mentions scouting him back in 2018.... Looks like a top 110 kid/4**** pick up to me
 




The biggest difference between Hurt and Mutaf is swagger. Hurt never had it, never got it. Instantly you can tell Mutaf has it. You wanna call it shooters mentality...very similar thing.
Hurt could shoot. Just not the confidence to lead people by example or make big plays or big baskets was very evident in high school. His brother over shadowed him as an 8th grader.

The idea Mutaf won't play as freshman seems very unlikely to me. We got so many shooters...has not been said about the Gophers in a long time. His swagger ain't sitting on the bench very long. He'll play.
 

Glad he is here.

who do you see as starters in this team if all are eligible and all return?

Carr
Gabe
Ihnen
Johnson
Robbins
 

Keyser Söze said:
Mustaf looks much better at putting the ball on the floor, pushing in transition, and creating than Hurt ever did.
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Mustaf is shown playing against non-athletic euros. Not sure that translates well to the athleticism he will face day in and day out in the B1G. We'll see, but a redshirt might be very helpful to his acclimation.
 


MennoSota said:
Mustaf is shown playing against non-athletic euros. Not sure that translates well to the athleticism he will face day in and day out in the B1G. We'll see, but a redshirt might be very helpful to his acclimation.
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Sure, but it has zero chance of even being a possibility if he can arrive on campus with all the hurdles even that'll require.
 

XMan said:
Glad he is here.

who do you see as starters in this team if all are eligible and all return?

Carr
Gabe
Ihnen
Johnson
Robbins
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I like it!!! If we get Robbins and Gach eligible we are extremely competitive!
Mashburn, Williams, Mutaf, Gach on the perimeter off the bench. Thats 9 guys with skills.
If Curry could return to his freshman ability...
If Freeman gets minutes and surprises everyone we are solid inside!
Omersa is going to bring the Red Bull mentality.
Mitchell can gain seasoning.
Golly, we'd have too many guys who can play for once....if all healthy, eligible and not pouting.
Nice group! I like it!
Lets play!!!
 


60's Guy said:
I think I'd prefer Gach over Hodges. Hopefully, we get it done this week.
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It's an interesting debate. Hodges strikes me more as the grinder kid that will do all the little things consistently, while Gach can be inconsistent with very high high's and lower low's.
 



per Marcus:

"I picked the Gophers, because I feel it’s the right fit for me," Mutaf told the Star Tribune through text message. "We had good comminication with [Pitino] and his staff. Also, I believe that they have a good team and even better fans. I want to help the team as much as I can, and want to make an impact -- and be the best team player I can be."

Mutaf, who averaged 22 points and shot 44 percent from three-point range for his club team in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in February, is known for his long-range shooting and ability to create his own shot off the dribble. His older brother, Cam Maxim Mutaf, is a member of the Turkish senior national basketball team and a successful pro in his country.

In the last week, Mutaf said he was deciding between coming to play for the Gophers or staying in Turkey to pursue a pro career like his brother.

"It was one of the options for me," Mutaf said. "But I decide to play [college basketball] and continue school and play basketball at the same time [for] improvement."

After taking a virtual tour of Minnesota's facilities and campus earlier this month, Mutaf was able to learn more about the Gophers from fellow countryman and former Gophers forward Alihan Demir, who "helped me about my decision," Mutaf said.

Demir enjoyed his senior year in Minnesota last season after transferring from Drexel. He graduated with a master's degree from the U this month.

"I have met him," Demir told the Star Tribune. "He called me about the school and the team to get my opinions. I haven't really watched him play, but I heard that he is a good player."

www.startribune.com

Gophers land talented Turkish guard David Mutaf for the 2020 class

The 6-foot-6 guard from Istanbul was a member of Turkey's junior national team. He picked Minnesota over Arkansas, but was also being recruited by SEC, Big East and Pac-12 schools.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

MennoSota said:
Mustaf is shown playing against non-athletic euros. Not sure that translates well to the athleticism he will face day in and day out in the B1G. We'll see, but a redshirt might be very helpful to his acclimation.
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I understand that there's a difference in competition level. He might redshirt, but he might also start. Who knows. It's pointless to try to predict either of those scenarios from a highlight video, but I stand by the fact that his ball handling/creating is clearly better than Hurts.

Edit: I also find it hilarious that you are confidently comparing their defense based on a 2 minute highlight video.
 
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I know nothing about this player beyond a few breakdowns and video cut ups. I'm hopeful that he'll be good. But my expectations are that he'll be a depth player who provides very little in year one.
 

I’m excited about this class. Looking forward to watching them play. It will say a lot about this staff and their coaching and development if they can bring them together and put a good year together. Sounds like some pro prospects on the roster. At least there are if Robbins can play, Ihnen develops, and Gach transfers and plays. Also some talk about Mutaf and pro possibility.
 

Keyser Söze said:
I understand that there's a difference in competition level. He might redshirt, but he might also start. Who knows. It's pointless to try to predict either of those scenarios from a highlight video, but I stand by the fact that his ball handling/creating is clearly better than Hurts.

Edit: I also find it hilarious that you are confidently comparing their defense based on a 2 minute highlight video.
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I fully grant that we are going by very little data. However, speaking just for me, I would rather caution on the conservative side than jump in full pollyanna. I saw how folks did that with Hurt when he came. I'd rather that Mutaf surprise me rather than disappoint me.
 


MennoSota said:
Watched the tape. Mustaf clearly has a better shot. He's actually less athletic than Hurt and about equally as bad on the dribble. Hurt is a better defender. It looks to me like Mustaf could use a redshirt season.
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Hopefully this post does not age well.
 

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